The station core has been launched in year 12. It went up as a single package, complete with lots of LF/Ox, MonoPropellant, USI-LS Supplies/Mulch/Fertilizer, and some other miscellaneous MKS storage. The station core is an expensive piece of over-powered gear (for its size, the mass/cost are mostly balanced). It’s a big piece of stock parts, welded together with UbioZur Welding and then adjusted to do what I wanted it to do.

Construction Phase

Attached to it is a single 0.625m and four 1.25m docking ports for visiting vessels. There are also some Konstruction docking ports behind some parts which will allow for some expansion later (a pair of 1.25m and pair of 2.5m construction ports). The parts attached to the construction ports can be removed and then I can dock something new there.

The lower part of the station contains USI-LS recyclers and agroponics (for converting mulch + fertilizer into supplies). There are also PPD-12 cupolas and a PPD-24 Observation Module for increased MKS habitation / home timers. Ideally, I should have at least 3-5 years of hab-time for a crew of two scientists. But we’ll see how well I calculated things when I get the first station crew up.

Note: Once you get kerbals into orbit, when using USI-LS, mulch mass is a precious resource. Never de-orbit or destroy mulch, always offload it into orbital storage before dropping back down into a gravity well. It’s almost as important as supplies mass (which you should also leave in orbit).

A pair of robotic cargo vessels have been docked. One contains a large quantity of fertilizer and the other contains a cache of supplies. That will extend the amount of time before the crew runs out of supplies. These will be permanently lashed to the station using KIS/KAS struts once I get an engineer into orbit. In addition, excess bits like engines, solar panels, extra lights or antenna will be disassembled and converted into USI Material Kits. One of the future expansions to the station may install an expandable module which will need Material Kits for inflation.

One of the 2-kerbal Crew Return Vehicles (CRV) has been sent up and docked to act as a lifeboat for the permanent crew.

KSP: Station Construction (Year 12)

Station Crew Launch

Launched: Y12 D268

  • Jebediah (P)
  • Valentina (P)
  • Bob (S)
  • Bill (E)
  • Jendos (S)
  • Kerdos (S)
  • Defen (S)
KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12) KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12) KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12) KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12) KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12) KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12) KSP: First Station Crew (Year 12)

Station Status / Construction

Bill hooked up some KAS struts while on EVA to make the two supply vessels a more permanent part of the station (until they are empty). The USI Life Support window shows that we have about 2.3 years of home/hab time with seven kerbals on board, that will give plenty of hab/home time once it is just two kerbals.

The current recycler / agroponics modules were not quite enough to keep up with seven kerbals. One of the reasons that the temporary part of the crew will return to Kerbin after a short period is because the mulch tanks were filling up. Part of any expansion plans will be likely be another Nom-O-Matic module.

KSP: Attaching KAS struts KSP: Station Capacity with Seven Kerbals

Station Crew Return

Only Bob and Jendos will be staying on the station to perform research. The other five will return to Kerbin on Y12 D419 (about 150 days). Target landing zone is the ocean, east of KSC.

The air bags and floats are from USI Survivability.

KSP: Year 12 Crew Return KSP: Year 12 Crew Return KSP: Year 12 Crew Return KSP: Year 12 Crew Return